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I can finally answer because i've been to both ! ANd enjoyed both cities a lot.

Downtown: Tie. Munich is obviously better because it's european with lots to see and do, but Montreal has an actual downtown for being north american with varied neighborhoods and sights.

Walkability: Munich. Montreal is very walkable again, but Munich is less car dependent and has more areas with no access for cars.

Transportation: Munich because you can go everywhere with public transport. and there's more integration between various modes of transportation overall. It's also more bike-friendly, you can rent bikes everywhere for cheap and there are bikelanes everywhere so it's a cyclist dream. Montreal is very good, probably better than here, but there are many areas which are far from the rest of the city with not much of public transportation to speak of. For cars, Montreal os probably better but it's a city we're talking about....

Recreational activities: Tie for me. Montreal obviously has more nature around, but Munich is probably closer to its nature spots and also has the larget urban park in the world. Also, I like woods and lakes, but Munich has the Alps nearby. One thing I loved to to was renting a mountain bike in Munich, hopping on a train with it, and going to a lake some 30 km away. This is probably something you can do in Montreal too, but I feel like it would take longer overall and you'd need a car.

Bars / restaurants: Probably Montreal for being more diverse. Although in Munich it's pretty diverse as well,

Climate: I love cold and snowy winters, but Montreal might be a bit harsh for me. So I choose Munich despite the summers are a bit on the cool side. If it was Munich vs. NYC, I'd probably choose America.

Affordability: No idea which is more expensive.... Montreal seems cheaper overall though

Architecture: Slight edge for Munich, but Montreal has great alleys behind its streets and is still quite varied for being north american

Visit: Montreal. I'd like to live there but I would be too far from many things and people. That would be a radical change, but the less radical of north america for a French person.

Live: Munich. Overall an improvement over living where I live now, but I'd be close to family / friends / civilization / mountains.

So, I can't really disagree on all the points for certain, but is Munich really all that conservative? I know it is traditional, per se, but it's also known for "laptops meets lederhosen", so I would guess that while it may not be as liberal as Montreal is, I'm guessing it is a relatively open minded/liberal place also. I could be wrong on that though.

Munich's nightlife seems to be more centered around biergartens, outdoor drinking, festivals and such (which honestly I might prefer in style), but I'm sure I could find great/diverse nightlife options in both.

Never understood the "conservative" argument about Munich either. You can basically bathe nude in the river downtown without anyone batting an eye, and beer is everywhere. At least from here it looks pretty relaxed.

Never understood the "conservative" argument about Munich either. You can basically bathe nude in the river downtown without anyone batting an eye, and beer is everywhere. At least from here it looks pretty relaxed.

Yes, we all know what happens in the Englischer Garten.

Could it be related to the Catholic-Lutheran thing? Munich is in Bavaria which is predominantly Catholic whereas the rest of Germany is seen as more Lutheran/Protestant? In some circles Catholics are seen as more conservative than Protestants, though I am not sure that should be a hard-and-fast rule based on my experience. But the stereotypes always persist.

When I was in Munich for 3 days 3 years ago I’ll be honest I got bored after a half-day because their city centre is small compared to Montreals being much bigger, more neighborhoods, more shopping malls and streets, and much more things to see/do.
I also went to the BMW headquarter and museum in Munich.

Could it be related to the Catholic-Lutheran thing? Munich is in Bavaria which is predominantly Catholic whereas the rest of Germany is seen as more Lutheran/Protestant? In some circles Catholics are seen as more conservative than Protestants, though I am not sure that should be a hard-and-fast rule based on my experience. But the stereotypes always persist.

Well, we're very catholic here and we're nowhere near as relaxed, although we're more relaxed on other things. To me Munich does not feel utterly catholic, it mostly feels german, yet it feels familiar to someone like me who has grown up near the Alps in a non-mediterranean context. That said I've never been to places like Hamburg or Kiel, they might feel quite different.

When I think about protestant stereotypes, I don't necessary see them as being more progressive.

When I was in Munich for 3 days 3 years ago I’ll be honest I got bored after a half-day because their city centre is small compared to Montreals being much bigger, more neighborhoods, more shopping malls and streets, and much more things to see/do.
I also went to the BMW headquarter and museum in Munich.

You haven't seen much of Munich it seems, the city is pretty big actually, many neighborhoods are pretty far from the center of the city. Munich has many museums or typical neighborhoods, and there are shopping malls away from the center.

You haven't seen much of Munich it seems, the city is pretty big actually, many neighborhoods are pretty far from the center of the city. Munich has many museums or typical neighborhoods, and there are shopping malls away from the center.

I agree. European cities evolve to have the Town Centre Network model where you have distinct neighbourhoods with their own local commercial streets filled with bars, restaurants, etc. This is unlike North American cities where you have the downtown surrounded by a sea of low-density suburbs whose only shopping are the big box stores surrounded by car parking.

I agree. European cities evolve to have the Town Centre Network model where you have distinct neighbourhoods with their own local commercial streets filled with bars, restaurants, etc. This is unlike North American cities where you have the downtown surrounded by a sea of low-density suburbs whose only shopping are the big box stores surrounded by car parking.

I agree this tends to be the way things are generally, though Montreal as a North American city is not really just a highly concentrated vibrant downtown surrounded by auto-oriented suburbs. Yes it does have a sea of auto-oriented low-density suburbs, but before you get there you have a fairly expansive area of distinct urban neighbourhoods each with their own heart. (Boston is also like this, for example.)

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